Results 25,961-25,980 of 33,175 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Doherty made a good suggestion in pointing out that we could dispose of another group of sections now. When we come back in the morning then, we would just have the ZLT and one or two other things to do. The Deputy's suggestion deserves consideration. I am happy to answer the question from Deputy Matthews, however, if the Chair wishes.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Nov 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 141: In page 174, line 6, after “in” to insert “subsections (2) and (3) of”

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (9 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 200 and 203 together. The objective of the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) is to support employment and maintain the link between the employer and employee insofar as is possible. The EWSS has been a key component of the Government’s response to the Covid-19 crisis. It is an economy-wide scheme that operates across all sectors. In money terms,...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Data (9 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I am advised by Revenue that the first year the Key Employee Engagement Scheme (KEEP) became available was 2018. Generally, a qualifying employee must hold any share options granted under the scheme for at least 12 months prior to exercise. Therefore, 2019 was the earliest year that individuals could exercise their options to acquire shares in qualifying companies. The number of...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Departmental Expenditure (9 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I wish to advise the Deputy that the amount expended on electricity by the Department of Finance, in each of the past five years to end November 2021, is as follows: 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 €105,114.70 €99,915.33 €107,184.04 €105,260.53 €91,399.54 This...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Reliefs (9 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: Trans-Border Workers’ Relief may apply in the case of an individual resident in the State but who commutes to his or her place of work outside the State. This relief is set out in section 825A of the Taxes Consolidation Act (TCA) 1997. The relief effectively removes the foreign employment income from a liability to Irish tax where foreign tax has been paid on that employment income. In...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Regulatory Bodies (9 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 205 to 207, inclusive, together. As the Deputy is aware, the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) is independent in the performance of his statutory functions and I have no role in the day to day workings of the office or in the decisions which he takes. The FSPO has informed me that they receive approximately 400 to 450 new complaints each month....

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: Before I respond to the nature of the recommendation tabled by Senator Higgins, I have a couple of opening points about the State's involvement in the provision of homes. First, it is wrong to suggest that the Government is subcontracting out the need to meet housing needs to the private sector. This year, the State is spending €4.1 billion in either directly building homes itself,...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I fundamentally disagree with the Senator's description of housing policy being dictated by the market. Macro-prudential rules are not being dictated by the market. The State spending €4.1 billion on building homes directly or helping to get them built is not being dictated by the market. Senator Casey spoke about work happening in his community. The work Dublin City Council is...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: We are doing that. That is why we are trying to build more homes. As already stated, the fundamental reason we have house price inflation at these levels is that we are not building enough homes. We need to build more homes and we need to do it more quickly. That is the answer to many of the challenges as regards affordability at the moment. We need to build more homes and, within that,...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: We have already given a commitment to go ahead with a review of the help-to-buy scheme. I indicated that in my statement earlier today and on budget day. The reason I am not accepting the recommendation is that I do not believe the Finance Bill is the right place to make commitments about when and by when reports are to be done. This is legislation. I have given a commitment that I will...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: As part of its national structure, Revenue has adopted a large cases-high wealth individuals division. That division is responsible for all taxation matters relating to high wealth individuals, who are currently defined as people with net wealth of €20 million or more. Revenue has also established a medium enterprises division and tax affairs of the next tier of high wealth...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Senator is requesting a comprehensive report on transborder workers' relief. This was discussed during the debate on last year’s Finance Bill, when I undertook that the relief would be examined as part of the work of the TSG process for 2021. I fulfilled this commitment and this relief was examined by that process earlier this year. This issue was also raised with me on...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: The Senator’s recommendations refer to reports on first, the tapering out of income tax credits at certain incomes and, second, the introduction of a high income levy. First, regarding tapering of income tax credits, there is already a substantial amount of research published on this subject. The income tax reform plan published by my Department in July 2016 examined this issue due...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: There is a fundamental difference here. The two Senators will always see work as something to be taxed at a higher level. They will always see companies, entrepreneurs and innovation as things to get more tax from. They, frankly, ignore the fact that other countries want the innovative companies that are located in Ireland. That is an inescapable fact of having a small, open economy in...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: A person earning €140,000 is already paying a higher average rate of tax. That is already the case. Politicians such as me who believe we have tax structures at the moment that are fair and effective, and that play a role in ensuring those who have more pay more, do a disservice to those beliefs if we do not challenge the views we are hearing from our colleagues here. Let me repeat...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: As the Senator will be aware, this change was proposed in an amendment during Report Stage of the Bill in Dáil Éireann. However, allow me to set out once again why I believe the introduction of such a relief is not appropriate. On Report Stage in the Dáil, Deputy Pearse Doherty noted correctly that relief in respect of rent paid by private tenants was previously available....

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: I fully appreciate that we have huge challenges in the rental sector. I understand the anxiety and stress faced by many tenants who find their rents going up and are worried about whether they will have rental accommodation in the future. The Senator makes the case that we have huge difficulties in the rental sector, as we do. At the same time, we are at the point at which "landlord" has...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: A whole variety of issues have been raised in this debate, from the taxation of REITs and IREFs to the issue of taxes on capital raised by Senator McDowell. I will say a word about each of the points I have heard. I will begin with Senator McDowell's point regarding the level of transactions we have in our economy being influenced, in the first place, by the level of tax on those...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Paschal Donohoe: Sinn Féin quoted a paper from the Department of Finance. I was discourteous when Senators were speaking because I did not have the report to hand and wanted to get it so I could read out to Sinn Féin the conclusions of the report. I will not have papers from my Department being selectively quoted from to make arguments that the Department and I disagree with. The Senator quotes...